


Embrace Your Dreamstagram

by Tobiroth



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fitness Bloggers, Friendship, Instagram, Librarian Genesis, M/M, POV Alternating, Teacher Cloud
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-06-27 01:22:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15675177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobiroth/pseuds/Tobiroth
Summary: Genesis comes home one night to tell his roommate, Cloud, that he's met the love of his life... except, no, oops, the handsome fitness Instagram-user he'd met at a work event is engaged.  The heartbreak is brief, though, because Zack has attractive 'fitstagram' friends. Even if Cloud doesn't know the first thing about social media and Genesis has not gone running for anything other than the bathroom in a long time, they make it work.





	1. Cloud is Startled

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my yearly Cloud's Birthday Week challenge - this time, for 2k18! Every year it seems like I do an AU that involves social media, so this year, it's Instagram (the One Punch Man fandom is full of 'em, and they're always so fun, so props to those folks).

Genesis usually liked to sing-song _"Honey, I'm home!"_  when he returned after a long day of work. They had a whole rehearsed routine - Cloud would act all aflutter and blow him a kiss from wherever he was in their shared apartment. He'd say something silly like, _"Oh, I missed you so much, dearest"_  or _"If you forgot to buy the toilet paper like you said you were going to, get the hell out."_

Sometimes they were particularly ridiculous about it and sometimes the interaction wasn't much other than grunts, but no matter how sleepy or pissed off Genesis was when he got home he always managed to mutter out  _something_.

This time, Cloud hadn't even realized Genesis was home until he got up from the couch in front of the television to go get a beer from the fridge. He wandered into the kitchen to see his roommate there, his shoes untied but still on his feet like he'd started doing his usual get-home routine but forgot halfway through, and staring blankly into the fridge.

And of course Cloud yelped, fisting a hand in his shirt over his heart. Genesis startled too; both men looked at each other, Cloud now laughing half-nervously (with maybe an undercurrent of irritation).

"Genesis," Cloud panted, trying to stand up straight and play off how scared he's just gotten, "What the hell?"

_Why are you being so creepy,_  was what Cloud wanted to ask, but did not.

"Oh." Genesis blinked at him. His hair was swept back off his forehead today and neatly gelled in place - he wore it like this sometimes, and it did a good job this time of exposing every inch of Genesis' dazed expression. He said dully, "Honey, I'm home."

Warily, Cloud moved closer. He nudged Genesis out of the way with his hip. He went easily, like a blade of grass so thin and fragile the weakest of winds could buffet it. As Cloud grabbed a beer - no, on second thought, two - Genesis just stood there, staring somewhere over Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud pressed the coldness of a can to Genesis' cheek, and that finally got him to focus. Blue eyes snapped to Cloud's. As he accepted the beer Genesis' gaze bored into Cloud's.

"Cloud," Genesis said, "I met the love of my life today."

Cloud didn't answer, mostly because Genesis had been a drama student - he liked those big, shocked silences, complete with eye-widening and breathless gasps. So Cloud waited, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, until Genesis deigned enough time had passed and he continued, "We had a booktalk today in our biggest meeting room. The author was there, and Cloud-" Genesis ran his fingers through his hair, catching slightly on the gelled strands, "He is beautiful, Cloud, my God."

The two of them had been best friends since high school - Cloud had developed quite the immunity to Genesis and his theatrics. He chuckled under his breath, then, and beckoned Genesis to follow him as he he moved back to the couch. He muted the show he'd been half-watching before and sprawled out on his end, waiting with an eyebrow raised for Genesis to join him.

"A hot author, huh," Cloud drawled.

"Well." Genesis sat, and it looked like he'd finally taken off his shoes properly on the way over. His shirt was still smartly buttoned up to his neck, though he'd left his ever-present librarian cardigan back at the library where he worked. "Technically he's an author, because he has a book, but writing isn't his passion, per-se."

Genesis shrugged his crossbody briefcase off his shoulder and rooted around inside, tugging out two books (it seemed like Genesis found something on the shelf every day that he just had to check out, despite the tower of 'to-read' items in his bedroom) before finally dropping a large, garishly-colored book onto Cloud's lap.

It looked like a coffee table book rather than a novel - EMBRACE YOUR DREAMS was the title, written in big, neon-green font. The image was of a guy - a  _hot guy_ , yeah - in a hot pink mesh tank-top with a big thumbs-up and an even bigger grin. Dark, messy hair, blue eyes, an x-shaped scar on one cheek.

The credits at the bottom read,  _By Zack Fair - viral instagram user @fairweather_

"Dude."

"Open it up," Genesis said, now sounding a little nervous.

Cloud did, flipping to the neon flyleaf, the first loose page in the book, where Fair had written in sharpie,  _To Genesis - Stay Gorgeous!_ with a small, doodled version of his own spiky head.

Genesis always made a point of interacting with the authors who came to the Sector 8 Public Library; he was a great networker and also it was just  _fun_. Being the head Adult Librarian on the staff, he usually coordinated bringing these authors to the branch. Getting a massive crush on one of them - calling them the love of his life - that was new, however.

As Cloud flipped through the first few pages, he hummed in consideration. There was an introduction written by Zack, and although he didn't actually read it his eyes caught words like  _just keep at it_ and  _you can do it_ and the kind of generic inspirational stuff written by… well, written by everyday people who weren't writers but who wanted to sound like they were motivational speakers.

Whatever.

The most important thing, though, was that Zack was beautiful. The first image was a selfie in front of a bunch of gym equipment. Zack flexed one arm, showing a bulging, beautifully-defined bicep. Beside him, Genesis looked like a salivating dog sitting on the ground waiting for its dinner.

"He's hot," Cloud offered. "His smile is really cute."

"Imagine having that thing flashed at you in person," Genesis muttered, reaching out and - yes - actually  _stroking_  said smile on the glossy pages. "Let's go through his instagram."

Amused, Cloud tucked himself a little closer to his friend and watched over Genesis' shoulder as he pulled up the app. "You have an instagram?"

"I do. I mostly post pictures of what I'm currently reading." Genesis thumbed to his own account, and yeah, it was mostly artsy shots from above of various books next to cups of coffee or appetizers from various Midgar restaurants. A few were of the Sector 8 Library - being a librarian could be stressful as hell, but Genesis fiercely loved his building and the neighborhood.

Cloud suddenly grabbed Genesis' phone, holding it out of reach so he could croon, "Awww," at a picture he spotted of the two of them. It was a picture a kind tourist had taken of the both of them in Junon last summer at the edge of a large man-made lake. They were both in their bathing suits, and Cloud suddenly felt a flash of pain along his shoulders (he'd gotten a horrible sunburn that day). "Show me the caption."

Genesis tapped the small square that was the miniature version of the picture, making it bigger. It had 83 likes (impressive, Cloud thought, since Genesis did not have all that many friends) and the caption was just  _with my best friend. #junon #vacation_

"Yes, I'm adorable," Genesis griped, "Now, most importantly -" and he went back to the search page and typed in @fairweather. _#fairweather_ was a popular hashtag, with a couple hundred thousand posts in it, and when Genesis pulled up Zack's page Cloud gasped.

"Two point six million followers? That's a lot, right?"

"Yes. I have a little over five hundred. Mostly book nerds."

They scrolled through some of Zack's posts, looking at each one individually before moving on. Fitstagram, as Genesis called it, was like another world. Most of Zack's posts had a couple sentences of motivation at the bottom, the more recent ones all advertising his book ( _'buy #EMBRACEYOURDREAMS now!! #books #fitness #greatreads #youcandoit'_ )

He almost seemed more like a model than anything else, Cloud thought; Zack was dressed to the nines in every post in brightly-colored workout gear in brands like nike and adidas, usually with a link below the post to purchase his outfit from the retailer's website. And… truthfully…

He was really selling it, too. The spandex and nylon clung to every inch of his perfectly sculpted body. He wasn't a professional weight-lifter or anything; he didn't have muscles that looked comically big. He had wide shoulders and a slim waist, a fucking eight pack, beautiful tan skin that looked soft enough to touch over all those hard muscles, and more than all of that, that damn charismatic smile.

Then they scrolled to a picture of Zack with his arm around a petite brunette with a grin wide enough to rival his. Their hair was wet and her bathing suit had strawberries on it, cute next to Zack's with sunflowers.

The only hashtag beneath was  _#womancrushwednesday._

"G-Girlfriend?" Genesis stuttered. Cloud imagined the sound of glass breaking, the glass being Genesis' heart, of course.

Genesis went back to the overview page, where you could see all the tiny thumbnails of all of Zack's photos. He brought the phone close to his face, adjusting his reading glasses, and scrolled furiously until he found another picture of her, this time with Zack lifting her in the air and she, in a cute yoga outfit, reaching up towards the ceiling in some sort of asana. She was crying, and so was Zack. A lovely ring sat on her finger, probably just put there.

_She said yes! #fairborough @namasterith_

"Fiancé," Cloud confirmed, putting an arm around Genesis as the redhead hung his head. "Though if he's flirting with you at an event promoting his book, he's an asshole."

Genesis sagged against Cloud's side for a moment, and then straightened back up. "...Well," he said, sounding miserable but also a little thoughtful, "Perhaps… I exaggerated his interest in me a bit."

At the look Cloud was giving him, Genesis said, "But! I told him I'd love to talk to him sometime about booktalks in the other Midgar branches, and he agreed to getting coffee."

"I'll toss my latte in his face for you."

Genesis chuckled sadly. "No need. But, wow, that's a disappointment. I really thought we had chemistry."

Cloud got up to fix dinner for the both of them, figuring Genesis would want some comfort food, and Genesis stretched out on the couch, flipping sadly through all of Zack's photos, because he was the type to torture himself like that.

It was when Cloud was wrist-deep in ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings that Genesis called out, "Cloud! Get over here!"

"I'm making meatballs," Cloud responded, "You come here."

There was a groan but then Genesis heaved himself off the couch and joined him. As Cloud shaped the mixture and dropped the meatballs into an inch of sizzling oil, Genesis showed him a few more pictures he'd discovered on Zack's account.

Zack, as it turned out, had really hot friends.

"Look at him," Genesis breathed, pushing his phone far too close to Cloud's face, making the blond lean back. He was a dark-haired man with a neatly-trimmed goatee - no mustache, just a cute patch of hair on his chin and a bit along the sharpness of his jaw. He was buffer than Zack, his arms looking thick enough that Cloud could probably cup his flexed bicep with both hands and his fingers wouldn't touch.

For a guy who'd just met the love of his life and then lost said love of his life, Genesis seemed remarkably chipper. "His  _face,_  Cloud," he said, staring longingly at his phone.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, because - well. Yeah. That just about covered it. The dude was so handsome it hurt, smiling easily at the camera as Zack posed next to him with a v-sign.

And the next picture…

This guy was leaner than both Zack and the guy they just saw, dressed in a black one-piece number that clung to him from his neck to his ankles. He was balanced on his hands on Zack's freaking shoulders, his legs out at ninety degree angles to the sides, feet pointed like a ballet dancer's, his whole body suspended up in the air. Zack just grinned in the picture, looking totally relaxed, like he didn't have a friend precariously balanced on him. A waterfall of silver hair cascaded down from the flexible guy behind Zack's back. It looked really, really long.

Just after this one was another selfie, this time of the two of them. The mentioned account was just  _@sephiroth_  and this guy - Sephiroth? - had bright green eyes and sharp cheekbones, and,  _oh_  -

Genesis let out a disgusted, "Ew," and Cloud realized he'd started squishing the meatball mixture between his fingers.

"Ah," Cloud said, a little dazed, releasing his fists.

"Let's see," Genesis said, moving back and leaning against the counter a few feet away. "The first guy… hm. Looks like his name is Angel. No - Angeal? Huh, that's cute. Over a million followers."

Over dinner Genesis rambled at length about these two spectacular finds, Angeal and Sephiroth, who were apparently Zack's best friends and started fitness instagram accounts after Zack did. Neither had as many followers as Zack - Sephiroth about 1.4 million and Angeal at 1.1, but they all featured pretty often in each other's stuff.

Sephiroth was some sort of ex-dancer and posted a lot of pictures of fancy ballets he attended and pictures of his cat, Jenova, as well as him staring at himself in the mirror as he did squats with a bar or looking sweaty with a bottle of water in-hand after a run.

Angeal looked like he mostly imparted advice, his posts accompanied by lots of text about his  _journey_  and how exercise and a change in diet helped him manage some symptoms of his depression. There was a lot of informational stuff about mental health and photos he took on his camera, the exact brand of which they now knew because he always tagged it. Dude seemed to like taking photos of dogs on the street.

"I wonder if they're popular with my kids," Cloud mused, wiping sauce off his face with a napkin.

"Probably. A good deal of the visitors today were the under-thirty crowd, but it seemed every five minutes we busted another kid for skipping class to come see him. I'll advise the next branch that hosts him to do it after school hours to avoid that."

Midgar was really cracking down on truancy these days - Cloud knew the librarians were required to call the schools kids claimed to be from to verify they really had the day off if they were spotted at the building during school hours.

Heck, Genesis had even called him once, filling in for a librarian in the Children's Department. Cloud taught middle school math for twelve and thirteen year-olds at a public school across town, and one of his students had skipped school and tried to hang out in the teen area of Sector 8 Library. Busted (though it had been kind of fun to talk to Genesis while both of them were doing their jobs).

"So you think you'll still connect him with the other branches?"

"I suppose. He got quite the crowd today - I wouldn't want to deprive the public of that just because he cruelly broke my heart."

Cloud couldn't help but snort, and Genesis made the pinched face he made when he was trying desperately hard not to smile.

"And besides. Maybe I can get him to introduce me to his friends if I go get coffee with him."

Genesis winked, over-exaggerated and charming as always, and Cloud knew his friend was alright.


	2. Genesis Makes Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every library-related story in this fic is real, from me or @tekka-wekka, who both work at public libraries. :)

He'd meant to finish the second half of the graphic novel he was reading the night before, but instead he'd gone down the rabbit hole of Angeal Hewley's instagram in the darkness of his bedroom, blinking at his bright phone until, somehow, hours had passed. Now he was cranky from lack of sleep and already had a bit of a headache.

Cloud, being more of a morning person than him, wasn't helping.

He bustled around this morning, already dressed in his belted slacks and button-up. He had quite the collection of ties, always accepting weird or math-themed ones for gag gifts. Today's featured lots of little books - oh, it was the one Genesis had gotten him last Christmas - and that did, begrudgingly, make him smile.

Cloud quietly handed him a mug of coffee fixed the way he liked it; Genesis nodded in thanks, collapsing inelegantly back against the counter like he had yesterday night. "I fell asleep far too late."

"Still stalking Zack?"

"Angeal," Genesis answered, yawning and making the second syllable come out  _geeeal._ "Though Sephiroth's is interesting too."

"I'm wary of asking my kids if they know any of them. If they're anything like you, I won't get their attention for the rest of the day."

Cloud was smiling, eyeing Genesis through his still shower-damp bangs, his shoulders loose, posture relaxed. God, how Genesis envied his ability to be this easygoing this early in the morning.

"Why would anybody want to learn algebra in the first place?"

It was a common tease. Genesis was not, to say, very math-minded. Cloud, who loved engineering and motorcycles and tinkered with small electrical doodads with the middle school's robotics club, could get awfully passionate about variables and calculators despite being such a calm, withdrawn guy.

Rolling his eyes, Cloud shoved a last bite of banana in his mouth, scooped his lunch out of the fridge and waved a hand goodbye as he left their apartment. School started earlier than the library opened.

Genesis put on music as he got ready, waltzing through the apartment as he got dressed and had a small breakfast of his own. Cloud's style was a lot less opulent than his. The blond's room had a big bed but not a ton of personal effects, other than some framed posters on the wall (he'd gotten them framed in the last few years, finally upgrading from tape, and had claimed it was the final test of adulthood).

Genesis, on the other hand, transformed his room into a space that totally calmed him, from the long drapes on the windows, his bedspread, and the tastefully decorated walls and top of his dresser. There were a lot of home-decorating guides at the library, okay.

As Genesis boogied his way into his shoes by the front door, he heard his mom's voice echo through his brain, a version of what she'd said the last time he'd seen her:  _You're thirty-one, dear. When are you going to stop living with your friend and settle down?_

"Ugh," Genesis said aloud, disconnecting his phone from the bluetooth and sweeping out the door. You had to pull hard, because it got stuck in the jam sometimes, and three years in this apartment meant Genesis locked up without really thinking about it.

The Sector 8 Public Library was the second-biggest in the city after the central flagship branch. As always, as Genesis let himself in half an hour before the branch was due to open, there were a few people milling around outside waiting to get in. He sighed, rolling his neck, sipping at his coffee as he headed to the staff area.

"Morning, Vincent," he greeted his manager, who was already there and responding to emails at the desk in his office. Vincent had been with them for four years now, and at first Genesis thought Valentine hadn't been cut out for this kind of thing. You had to be awfully extroverted to deal with the public as much as he had to, always talking down patrons who were upset about overdue fines or complaining about not having a certain series in the collection. Vincent was a quiet man, but he knew how to pretend to be intimidating as hell, kicking out someone screaming at other patrons or barring someone doing drugs in the lower level bathrooms. Genesis liked the guy.

They had about fifteen staff in total which was, honestly, just barely enough to keep a branch running twelve hours a day five days a week with modified hours on weekends. There was the circulation desk and the adult and children's reference desks and all three of them needed to be manned at all times, not to mention people needed to be able to process books being returned or going out to other branches and deal with the  _mountains of reshelving_...yeah.

Genesis made everyone's schedule, so he was a little done with it all.

He checked to see when he'd scheduled himself on the adult desk that day, relieved to find it wasn't first thing in the morning, and settled into his desk, greeting his other coworkers as they entered.

Because Zack Fair was still the first thing on his mind, he pulled up his email as the others' conversations about the dismal state of the subway washed over him. Zack had an email for all professional things, probably watched over by some kind of agent, his real address guarded so his fans didn't spam him.

_From: Genesis.Rhapsodos@MidgarPL-com  
To: ZFInquiries@gaiamail-com_

_Zack,_

_Thank you again for visiting the Sector 8 Public Library yesterday afternoon. It was a pleasure to have you with us - we appreciate you being so accommodating in scheduling your visit._

_Some stats from yesterday: We had 73 unique visitors to your booktalk, and I was just informed that a large number of holds have been placed on your new book. We'll be buying more copies this week to accommodate the surge in interest._

_If your offer for coffee still stands, let's meet up and discuss you going elsewhere in the system. If it doesn't, I'm fine with doing so over email._

_Best,  
Genesis Rhapsodos_

He responded to a few other pressing things, grinning at an email from Kunsel from the Sector 4 branch describing how people kept walking into their new glass doors and drowning their manager in complaints because of their own damn stupidity. After years of working in a public library, though, things rarely surprised Genesis, just amused or annoyed him.

The day was slow, and he spent most of the morning helping folks with printer issues or directing them to the mysteries or nonfiction sections. At lunch he checked his email again and smiled to see a response from Zack.

_From: ZFInquiries@gaiamail-com_

_To: Genesis.Rhapsodos@MidgarPL-com_

_Genesis,_

_Hey, thanks! That's awesome to hear. I hope everyone likes the book. Coffee does sound cool. What about Saturday morning? I'm pretty booked up the rest of this week but should have a couple hours free then. Maybe...10 am? Looks like there's a cafe right near the Sector 8 Library, Highwind's. That work for you?_

_Zack_

Genesis replied with an affirmative, glad that it wasn't his weekend to work this time around. That night he triumphantly told Cloud about his upcoming coffee date and the man looked up from the stack of math tests he was marking with a red pen (there was a lot of red on his current one), nodded, and said flatly, "Don't forget the lactose-free milk."

" _Cloud,_ " Genesis groaned. "You're never going to let me live that down."

"Never," Cloud confirmed, smiling at the memory of Genesis' disastrous first date last year with a handsome literature professor where, halfway into his drink, Genesis had fled to the bathroom and camped out there with horrific shits while apologetically texting his date from the toilet and a line of irate customers banged on the door.

That was one way to chase Zack away if their meeting went badly, he supposed.

He only told one coworker about it, Yuffie, a pillar of the Children's Department who could do a storytime full of songs and rhymes for children with her eyes closed and then go run a couple miles on her lunch break. That amount of energy and pep should be illegal.

"The one with the really crappy book?" She asked, whispering because a couple toddlers were playing with blocks nearby and 'crappy,' while better than 'shitty,' still wasn't a very children's librarian-like thing to say.

"It's not that bad," Genesis protested, but really, yeah,  _Embrace Your Dreams_ kind of was. It was just huge versions of Zack's instagram posts with their original captions and maybe a sentence or two of context every now and again.

"He's super cute though, is this a da-aate?"

Yuffie left for a moment to gently scold some five-year-olds that were pulling books off the shelf for fun and to speak with their caregivers about it. "He's engaged," Genesis sighed when she came back, spreading his arms and looking miserable in his cardigan and reading glasses hanging from a chain around his neck.

She patted his shoulder consolingly. "Bummer. But hey, it'll be cool to have him come to some other branches. Good publicity for us, at least."

With her encouragement, Genesis dressed smartly for his not-a-date, trying to  _not_ look like a librarian for it though. Spring was coming, but today was still so cold, and he bundled up.

Zack was in line when he got there; he was easy to spot with all those messy spikes, though he wore a bright red sweatband across his forehead. Out of style, surely, but strangely cute, especially when he got his drink and noticed Genesis a few people back in line, facing him and grinning.

"Well, hello," Genesis greeted coyly after he ordered and moved to the side to wait. He was taking no chances with his digestive system and had just ordered Highwind's house blend of tea with honey and some sugar.

Zack wore jeans, tight-fitting and dark, but some typical athletic shirt under his coat. "Genesis," Zack answered, "Hey."

They moved to a seat away from the window, Zack whispering about paparazzi. Genesis  _highly_ doubted Zack was famous enough to have people following him around, but perhaps Zack just liked sitting in the back more. He followed without pushing it.

As they settled into their seats, Genesis was struck again by just how damn lovely this guy was. That smile directed at him, in person, again was almost overwhelming. After studying said face for so long on his phone Genesis noticed more than he had last time, like the occasional mole or freckle across that tan skin and the whiteness of his perfect teeth.

"Having a good morning?" Zack asked after a big slurp of his drink. He'd gone without the whipped cream, and it looked like one of the lower-calorie options.

Genesis almost lied, but decided to be himself, and gave an irritated grunt. "Caffeine first," he said, and after a pointed sip of his tea, said, "No. A woman had a cat hidden in her purse on the train on the way here, and it climbed out and terrorized everyone else in the car."

"'Terrorized,'" Zack repeated, smiling slowly.

Genesis shrugged. "Well. Ran around a bit until its mom scooped it back up. Same thing."

"Haha. Sure is, dude."

"I'm not a morning person."

"Aw." Zack swiped a finger over his nose, kind of like Cid, the owner of this cafe, was prone to do. "Mornings are the best. If you exercise in the morning then you'll have energy for the rest of the day."

"See, that's where you healthy types lose me." Genesis leant forward on his elbows and hung his head, looking like the most exhausted man on the planet. "If you exercise in the morning, that's all that day's energy used up right then. Then I'd go home and nap and sleep right through work."

Zack just laughed. His spikes flopped down over his headband. Genesis was charming him - Genesis charmed everyone. Excellent.

They made small talk for a bit, Genesis entertaining Zack with war stories from the public library. Everyone was always so shocked to find out so much shit went down there, imagining libraries as a silent place where all its patrons were perfectly behaved and only read books. Zack held his stomach as Genesis told him about a man they dubbed 'bird-man' who used to come into the branch with live fucking birds in his backpack. When staff asked him why his backpack was moving and making distressed noises he would invent all sorts of wild excuses the whole time while he was escorted out the front door.

But, eventually, once their drinks were gone, they got down to business.

"I've been in contact with a colleague at the Midgar Central Library - it's the biggest in the city."

"The one in Sector 1?"

"Yes. They're interested in hosting you. While they don't doubt you could bring in a crowd big enough for their largest meeting space, they think it would be an even bigger event if you could bring some people with you - specifically, she was thinking about your friends, Sephiroth and Angeal?"

"Oh, she wants the three of us?" Zack tilted his head, looking surprised and perhaps a little suspicious.

"Mm. From what I understand, neither have books of their own?"

"Nah, just me."

"Still, just having them there alongside you would be a big draw for the event. We'll pay you like last time - but as you know, we can't pay much. Public funding and all. The biggest thing you three would get out of it is the promotion from the MPL social media playing up the event - and, of course, the crowd there to purchase your book. If we go hard with the marketing, and all three of you are there, I think we could get quite the crowd."

"Hmmm…" Zack swished his mouth to one side and then the other. Genesis resisted the urge to nervously tap his fingers. "I guess it sounds fun. I've always wanted to do something like that alongside those two. I'll have to figure out what works for their schedules."

"We're thinking a Saturday or Sunday."

"Makes sense, so people can come."

In the end, Zack seemed interested and said that he would  _think about it,_ which was the best Genesis could hope for. The biggest obstacle seemed to be convincing his friends to join him. If it just ended up being Zack, fine, but MPL's social media wouldn't be nearly as aggressive promoting the event, and certainly not to the local news or anything, since they'd already had an identical event.

The purely selfish wish of Genesis's to meet Zack's friends - and more specifically, the latest star of his masturbatory fantasies, Angeal Hewley - was hardly worth mentioning, really.


	3. Cloud Makes a Friend

Reno slammed his lunch down so hard on the table that it rattled, making Tifa and Cloud give him identical frowns as he sat.

"Sorry," Reno muttered, not sounding very sorry. "The brats are extra awful today."

Tifa made a concerned noise while Cloud said nothing, chewing his sandwich slowly. He'd been having a good conversation with Tifa, and he was irritated to have them interrupted, but he knew how it was. Their kids - beloved as they were - could really give their teachers a run for their money. And migraines.

Tifa leant across the table and patted Reno's hand. "What'd they do this time?"

"It's the damn cell phones, yo," Reno sighed. "If I take them from them at the beginning of class they resent me for it, and if I let them keep them then they're on them the whole time, obviously. I can only interrupt my lecture so many times to call kids out."

The teacher's lounge was only so big, and Luxiere sitting at the next table over with his own set of papers to mark, turned around to give his five cents. "I make them turn them off in the beginning of class."

"They say they do, but don't always," Tifa countered. She made chemistry seem as captivating as it could be, but even she had to deal with the occasional texter.

"What do you do, Cloud?"

Cloud finished taking a swig of his iced coffee. While he could talk all night long to Genesis or Tifa, his best friend, he was… quieter than most of the others at work. When he was out of the classroom, anyway.

"I give them two chances," Cloud answered, shrugging. "I can't think if I'm standing still, so I tend to walk around the room as I talk if I'm not demonstrating equations on the board. If I see a kid with their phone out, I tap them on the shoulder as I pass by. It's less jarring then saying their name out loud. Two taps and they pass the phone over until the end of class."

"That might work for you, but I gotta stay up front, yo…"

Talking about work on their supposed break was annoying, but it was always good to get tips and tricks from his colleagues. At a lull in conversation, though, Tifa turned back to him with a grin. She grabbed his hand - which, once upon a time, would have been in a romantic way, when they had dated a few years back - but now was just friendly. Her brown eyes shone with mischief. "So as you were saying - tomorrow's the big day?"

"For what?" Reno asked.

Cloud sighed. "An event my roommate is hosting, sort of."

"The MPL guy?"

"Yeah. It's downtown."

Tifa snickered at him. "It'll be quite the 'sight.'"

He'd shown her all three of the event's guests on his phone, since he now had an Instagram, at Genesis' relentless insistence. Tifa felt the same way he did - that all three were unfairly cute. She had her own thing going on tomorrow, though, or she'd go with him to see them.

"I've got grading to do all weekend," Luxiere moaned miserably across the room.

"I feel that," Reno muttered, and all four raised their coffee mugs to that one.

* * *

It was two blocks away from the Midgar Central Library that Cloud remembered Genesis' cardinal rule for the evening.

 _Have at least one picture on your instagram, Cloud, I swear, or I'll eviscerate you,_ Genesis had said. He'd been saying that for the past month ever since this whole event was confirmed and he'd bullied Cloud into making one. He was clearly planning on showing the three fitstagram stars their accounts in a desperate attempt to get one of them to follow them.

Cloud looked left and right for something inspiring to take a picture of. Fuck. He was no good at this kind of stuff. He had every intention of keeping this account separate from his work life - he didn't need dozens of middle schoolers following him - so his username was  _fenrir0819,_ the name of his motorcycle and his birthday. It was hardly inspired, and Genesis had huffed at him but let it slide.

There was a young couple making out very publicly a dozen feet from him outside of a cute little bistro they'd probably just had a date in. Yikes. They were totally wrapped up in each other, not noticing the stares of those passing by on the sidewalk.

Cloud got a wicked idea.

He took a selfie, smiling serenely at his phone, angling it so it got a nice view of the old-european style bistro. Tap.

He grinned to himself as he saw the picture. It looked like he'd taken a nice picture of himself and the bistro but hadn't noticed the couple making out at all. He posted it, captioning it,  _Found a really cute restaurant on the street. #Midgar #selfie #itsreallypretty_

It served his roommate right for making him post stuff. Inspiration struck just outside the library too, in the form of a tremendous pile of dogshit on the sidewalk. He stood next to it, taking a picture of his shoes from above like lots of girls did with their cute flats and stuff. He'd learned a lot about what kinds of shots were popular on instagram in the past few weeks, if nothing else.

 _New #shoes,_ he captioned this one,  _very stylish. #loafers #ankles #nosocks_

He schooled the impish smile off his face and went inside.

He spotted Rosso first, one of the Adult Librarians at this branch. She and Genesis went all the way back to school for their advanced degrees in library science. Her bright red hair made her stand out. She was talking to a patron who seemed to be gesturing angrily about fines or overdue books or something.

Walking past her in the large atrium area, Cloud moved back to the main meeting room. At this point he'd been to all the public libraries in the city. He was a fan, just coming from a teacher's perspective - he encouraged his students to go there to do homework if their computers or printers at home were broken or if they didn't have either. But libraries were where Genesis lived, and he liked his best friend an awful lot.

Genesis was in this room helping another man move the chairs around, the manager of this location, Rufus. Cloud knew him fairly well. "Sir, we're not ready for the event yet, plea- Oh, it's you." Genesis gestured impatiently for Cloud to join them. "Help us?"

Cloud nodded and went to work. The event was due to start in a little under an hour; Cloud showed up early to help Genesis out, because he was nice. Up front went a table; Rufus, looking uncharacteristically frazzled, set up microphones at its three seats.

"As you know," he said, adjusting the cravat around his neck (Rufus was that kind of guy), "MPL has been promoting the ever-loving-fuck out of this event. Almost every branch has some sort of yoga or health-conscious group that meets there, so we're supposed to direct the public's attention to our fitness programs and the literature about cooking healthy meals for families and whatnot." Rufus put his hands on his hips for a moment, shaking his coiffed blond head, and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Cloud, I'm rambling. The administration is hoping this goes well, since they doubted the ability of these three to draw a crowd."

Genesis clapped Rufus on the shoulder. "Relax, Rufus, you're giving me the anxious sweats."

"You are rather damp."

"No I'm not," Genesis said, sounding shocked and mopping his forehead with his sleeve.

"You're not," Cloud reassured him, even though it was a fucking lie. "Just sit for a moment, won't you? I'll finish setting up the chairs."

Cloud was almost done his task when Genesis sputtered from behind him, " _Cloud Strife,_ your instagram!"

"Use the right lingo," Cloud teased, "You should have said, 'Cloud Strife, your insta.'"

"Oh, shut up," Genesis said crossly. He liked both of Cloud's pictures even as he glowered, and Cloud's phone buzzed in his pocket in response. "You have one comment on the first one, with the kiss. Someone said 'wtf.'"

That startled a laugh out of Cloud. He readied a witty response, but it fizzled out as the doors to the meeting room opened and Rosso led their three guests inside. All of them had boxes in their arms, though the men carried two each.

There were nervous greetings from the librarians as they waited for their guests to set the boxes down up front near the table. Then Rufus was moving forward with his hand outstretched, introducing himself as the manager and saying he was glad they were there.

Cloud mostly ignored them, not being important enough to warrant a formal introduction. As he adjusted the chairs a bit he heard Rufus tell them that Genesis and Rosso were the ones who coordinated the event.

"Good to see you again, Genesis," Zack said, and he sounded happy, even if Cloud couldn't see him.

Some patron outside started opening the door and Cloud, lingering in the back of the room now as they all talked, stuck his head out and said, "Sorry, we're not quite ready to let people in just yet. Soon though."

"Okay," the woman said easily enough. She was decked out in athletic wear.

Cloud wasn't staff, but hey, people tended to listen to those who acted like they were in charge. Back inside, he leant against the door to stop anyone from pushing it open and studied their guests.

Fuck, they were all so tall. Genesis wasn't a short man but they were a good head taller than him, probably 6'4 each or something. While Zack wore more neon workout stuff like he did on the cover of his book, Sephiroth was in a black sweater with the collar of a creamy gray button-up underneath folded out over the neck. Angeal was a mix of Sephiroth's formality and Zack's... Zack, in jeans and a t-shirt that read FEEL THE BURN, his winter coat already slung over a chair. There might have been some sort of gym's logo beneath.

When the group broke up, everyone doing their individual thing to finish getting set up, Cloud finally drifted closer. He went to Genesis, unpacking the boxes on the floor beside Sephiroth, and asked quietly, "How can I help?"

"Take over this for me, would you?" Genesis flashed him a look so grateful it made the whole trip out here to help him worth it even if he hadn't gotten paid in eye candy. "We're unboxing these and stacking them neatly on the table over there." He gestured with his head at a table against the far wall. "After the talk, people can buy a copy of the book - cash only - and then get in line to have it autographed by Zack or all three. If you don't mind, can I count on you to handle the transactions? I figured out of all of us, a math teacher would be the least likely to make a mistake counting bills, ha."

Cloud nodded, and on the other side of the box separating them, Sephiroth's head snapped up. He gave Cloud a curiously intense look, blinking acid green eyes at him. It had taken a day on the guy's instagram for Cloud to realize that Sephiroth had irregular pupils, more slit like a cat's than a perfect circle.

"Oh, hi," Cloud said.

Sephiroth looked back down and continued unpacking. "Hello."

"Yeah, sure, Gen, I'll do that." Rosso handed Cloud a metal box that presumably contained loose bills. From what Genesis had told him, getting MPL to agree to any events where money changed hands was difficult. Rosso had pitched a case for selling copies of Zack's book alongside encouraging patrons to check copies out of the library.

Rufus and Angeal set out stuff on the table they were going to show the public and Genesis set up Zack's powerpoint on the large screen behind them. Cloud wasn't sure what Zack was doing, but suddenly he was beside Cloud after Cloud placed another armful of copies of Zack's book on the table to the side.

"Dude," Zack said, "Is that the Warrior of Light?"

Cloud looked down. His crossbody satchel he sometimes wore when he wasn't at work (his 'man purse' Tifa called it) had a small, geeky keychain attached to the zipper.

"Oh," Cloud said, reaching down for it so Zack could inspect it. He even  _smelled_ good, like a subtly spicy cologne, not like… sweat, or whatever Cloud thought a fitness dude would smell like. "Yeah. The other side is Garland, even." He flipped it and Zack grinned, reaching out to turn it over in his fingers.

"Ah, that's so cool. His little horns, oh man. I freakin' love that game."

"Me too. I play it so much Genesis is sick of it," Cloud said, Zack's smile making one appear on his own face, and he jerked a thumb at Genesis fussing with the AV equipment.

"Oh, are you his roommate? He mentioned you."

Aw. That was sweet. "Yeah. I'm Cloud."

He and Zack shook hands. Then, as Cloud and Sephiroth finished making their trips to the boxes and table and back, Zack followed him and they talked video games. Even when done, when there was nothing for Cloud to do but sit and wait for the thing to start, he and Zack talked.

But then Rufus opened the doors for the public to start filing in and Genesis gestured for Zack to take his seat in the middle of the table. Sephiroth and Angeal were already seated, and all three looked at them strangely.

"Thanks, Spike," Zack said. "I was actually kinda nervous about this whole thing but you chilled me out." He held out a fist and Cloud bumped him, bemused.

So many people came that they utilized the space in the back for standing - that meant over a hundred people. There were more chairs tucked away in storage but Rufus had doubted they needed them. That was kind of awesome. Cloud got to sit at the table with all the copies of  _Embrace Your Dreams_ on it, so he had a good visual of Rosso thanking people for coming and introducing their guests.

The three men said a quick (Sephiroth especially so) little bit about themselves and got into the meat of the program, which was Zack going through his powerpoint and talking about his whole creative process for his book, and what his book meant to him.

Across the room, Cloud met Genesis' eyes, who leaned against the far wall. Cloud crossed his eyes and flared his nostrils. Genesis fought a smile, and Cloud considered it a victory.

When Zack was done (to much applause, and done very enthusiastically from a large group of teenagers in the back) the three opened up for questions, the second part of the program.

Someone asked Angeal about 'macros' and something complicated about his diet and Cloud didn't even try to understand Angeal's answer.

A young girl there with her mom shyly asked Sephiroth about being a dancer. She said it was really hard for her, and her teacher did not believe in her abilities. Sephiroth encouraged her to keep practicing and amused everyone with a short story about how bad he was when he first started, and how he'd caused a small accident on-stage for his first recital. Cloud definitely enjoyed the low, smooth rumble of his voice through the room, coming out the speakers.

A lot of the questions were about building an instagram presence and finding inspiration for new posts and stuff. Cloud thought back to his own two posts and hid a smile into his shoulder.

But finally the question-and-answer portion was done, and those who already had a copy of  _Embrace Your Dreams_  were encouraged to get in line and then Cloud had another large line of people waiting to buy the book before him.

He hadn't worked a till since he was in high school, but this was the same general idea. Cloud hadn't counted money so fast in his life. He settled into some long-lost customer service haze, greeting people with a kind smile and accepting their money. His fingers flew over loose bills and coins, double-checking he was giving the right change each time (he did not want Genesis or MPL on his case for lost bills).

When the last person was gone Cloud shut the metal money box with gusto and sagged into his seat. He didn't remember when he'd stood up, but he'd been standing for awhile, and his lower back ached a little.

Some people lingered, likely to get selfies with one of the three of them, and Zack indulged a few but then Rosso ushered them all out.

"Wheeew," Zack said, stretching out his arms, "We did it! How many books are left, Spike?"

Cloud blinked, coming back from wherever he'd zoned out to. "Uh," he said, "About fifteen. I sold a lot."

"Thanks for doing that." Zack came over to his table, leaving Sephiroth and Genesis to clean up all their stuff. "So, you were saying earlier that you have a motorcycle?"

"Oh, yeah. He's my pride and joy, I guess."

"'He?'"

"Uh, yeah," Cloud said, shrugging. "Y'know. Like how people use 'she' for their cars and stuff a lot. Fenrir just seemed like a he."

"Fenrir? You into mythology?"

"Sorta. Just a hobby. Here." Cloud pulled up a photo of his bike and proudly handed his phone to Zack. Zack gave a low whistle. "Hey, 'Geal, check this out!"

Angeal came over, and this was Cloud's first time seeing him up close, really. He'd been busy earlier. Angeal peered at Zack's phone and nodded his head. "That's impressive."

"Built him myself." Cloud couldn't help but boast a little bit. "I'm Cloud, by the way."

Angeal's handshake was warm and firm. Over Angeal's shoulder, Genesis waggled his eyebrows at Cloud. "Is 'Spike' your first name or last name?"

Cloud laughed at the joke. Angeal had a cute little smile. "First, I think. I got it about an hour ago."

Zack insisted, "It suits him." Once Angeal wandered away again to assist with putting the chairs away the man said, "Seems like you're pretty proud of him."

"Yeah. Took a couple years for me to finish him and all. I," Cloud chuckled a little, looking down at his shoes, "put him in my instagram username, actually."

"Oh yeah?" Zack nodded, flashing that megawatt grin, and Cloud suddenly went cold as Zack pulled out his own phone. "What's the full thing?"

"Ah," Cloud started, feeling his cheeks pinken, "I made it this morning, actually, it's not very exciting-"

"C'monnn."

How could Cloud say no to that?

When Zack had Cloud's account up he squinted at both of his posts, falling quiet for a minute. "...You little troll," he accused, looking back up. He was grinning, his eyes curving up happily from the strength of it.

When it was time for the three men to leave, Genesis waved Cloud over to his side. He tried not to frown as Sephiroth gave him a last lingering, curious look. As they left, Cloud politely pretended he couldn't see the pathetically longing look Genesis gave Angeal's back.

And that night, just before they separated into their own rooms for the evening, Cloud nodded along and agreed with Genesis that he and Angeal had had an instantaneous connection like the good friend he was.

* * *

 

Cloud's instagram is entirely inspired by this lovely picture of my brother and some scenic town in Italy:


	4. Genesis Gets one Step Closer

_From: ZFInquiries@gaiamail-com_

_To: Genesis.Rhapsodos@MidgarPL-com_

_Hey Genesis,_

_Saturday was fun! Sephiroth and Angeal said it was a worthwhile thing to do - I think they enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Ms. Rosso said we'll get our check from MPL sometime this week. I'll let you know if anything comes up._

_I know we mentioned doing a solo event at the Sector 3 library. Let me know if that's still on the table._

_Also, I hope this isn't too inappropriate - would it be OK if you passed along your roommate Cloud's contact information? He's cool, I think we could be friends. Ignore this part if he doesn't want to get in touch with me._

_Anyway, have a good one,_

_Zack_

* * *

" _Honey_ ," Genesis bellowed as soon as he was in the door, "I'm home, and I could kiss you."

Cloud's head appeared around the corner, poking in from the living room. There was a smudge of red pen ink on his cheek. "Well don't," he said, looking alarmed.

"You won't believe what I got in my email today - wait, what? What do you mean, 'well, don't?'"

"Don't kiss me." A small smile spread on Cloud's face. It made him look younger than his twenty-nine, more like nineteen. "Gross."

"...Hey."

Genesis kicked off his shoes, dropped his bag, and advanced.

Scrambling backwards, Cloud used a hand on the back of the couch to launch himself over it. He stood on the cushions, arms out for balance, eyeing Genesis warily.

"I'm gonna kiss the hell out of you, Strife," Genesis declared, pointing a finger at Cloud's chest.

Cloud belonged in some crackly, sepia-toned western movie. He growled, "You can try."

Cloud leapt over the arm of the couch, faked left in the entryway and darted right, but Genesis snatched out an arm and got a handful of Cloud's tank top before the blond pulled away and hurried down the hall to his bedroom. Genesis ran after him, hitting the bedroom door with his shoulder just as Cloud tried to slam it shut; it bounced back open, and Genesis surged inside.

"Genesis," Cloud gasped, laughing too hard to really put up a fight anymore. He weakly pushed at Genesis' chest but the redhead grabbed his face like a prince dramatically courting a princess and used his weight to tip them both over onto Cloud's bed as he kissed him.

It was a quick, chaste thing, just firm suction of lips, and then Genesis drew back, his knees on either side of Cloud on the bed now. Cloud's eyes were closed, and his cheeks bright red. "...Guh," was all he said.

Genesis licked his tingling lips and peered down at his roommate. "Huh. I haven't kissed you since undergrad."

Cloud's eyes opened again, bright blue slits. He looked annoyed, but it was an act; he could read that blond like, well, a library book. "There's a reason for that. That kiss was bad."

"Yeah, it was." Genesis smiled fondly, remembering a drunken dare at some house party when they were both too young to actually drink and their friendship was only a weak shadow of what it was now.

The goofy sort of happiness reflected in both their faces stayed for a long moment. Then Cloud pushed his hair out of his eyes and said, "You're still sitting on me."

"I'm aware." Genesis shifted, putting his weight on Cloud's trapped thighs. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively but Cloud didn't even react (not very fun at all, that Cloud Strife). Sighing, Genesis got off of him, rolling onto his back on the foot of the bed. They stared at the ceiling.

"So," Cloud said, when he got irritated with Genesis' suspenseful silence. "Why'd you kiss me again?"

"Because, my dear, Zack Fair asked me for your contact information." Genesis turned to gauge Cloud's expression. "He says he wants to be your friend."

"Really?" Cloud blinked those big blue eyes at him. "That's nice. I'm surprised."

"Because he's the author of an unfortunate book, or because you think he's too hot and famous to be friends with you?"

Cloud snorted softly at the book rib. He didn't rise to Genesis' bait - he seemed to know the redhead was itching for a chance to tell him all about why he deserved Zack Fair's friendship. Instead, he said, "We just didn't talk for all that long. Guess he really felt we clicked."

"I'd say. Angeal and Sephiroth were definitely curious."

Cloud didn't answer, but his brows furrowed slightly and his lips pursed in thought. Genesis let him ruminate for a minute, the two of them breathing and looking at Cloud's ceiling. The bed was soft and the sheets smelled fresh (and now that Genesis thought about it, it had been quite some time since Cloud had brought anyone back to this bed, hadn't it?). Eventually, though, Genesis got antsy and asked, "So, can I give him your number?"

Cloud swung his arms down from overhead, using the momentum to sit up, then stand. "Yeah, 'course. I'd feel shitty for using him to get to his friends, though, Gen."

Oh. Right - it  _was_ rather rude to bypass someone for their hot fitness pals.

"Well." Genesis followed Cloud out of the bedroom. "How's this: we become friendly with Zack, with the added benefit of a possible friendship with his friends."

Cloud muttered something about using the word 'friend' a lot but nodded. "Sure." He shrugged. "If Zack wants to be friends with some random math teacher, hey, let him."

* * *

The next week was rather excruciating for Genesis.

Firstly: it had to be the full moon again, or the city's water supply must be tainted, because things were wilder at the library than usual. He wrote two barring notices by Wednesday and personally escorted out a drunk man who confessed easily that he was at the library to 'meet a beautiful lady' and who had not taken well to Genesis telling him that the library was not the place for that, and no, he could not harass women there.

Secondly: all week long Cloud stayed on his phone with an infuriatingly secretive  _smile_ on his face. He was texting Zack, Genesis knew, and it took some time for Genesis to man up enough to admit that, yeah, he was a little jealous.

He'd been the one to meet Zack first, but Zack liked Cloud more than him, evidently. Their emails were perfectly pleasant going back and forth arranging things for the solo Sector 3 branch visit (the last of Zack's programs with the library for now, at least until his next book anyway) but Genesis certainly was not the one interrupting movie night by pulling out his phone and typing something about horned video game characters or motorcycles.

His patience (if huffing angrily every time Cloud texted Zack counted as patience) paid off, however, because on Friday Cloud answered his "Honey, I'm home" with, "Tomorrow night we're going to hang out with all three of them. Clear your schedule."

"It's already clear."

"I know that - but I wanted to give you the chance to pretend that you have a social life."

Genesis scowled, and Cloud pat his shoulder as he walked past him to the fridge.

* * *

Naturally, Genesis worked that Saturday and the string of weird library occurrences continued. A man, barred at all MPL branches for a year for threatening a librarian in Sector 6, refused to leave, and Genesis had to call library security on him. Yuffie found a poopy diaper between two books on the shelf, because someone couldn't be bothered to walk to a fucking trash can.

But eventually he was home and anxiously going over three different outfits laid out on his bed.

Cloud, out of his teacher's business-casual and now in a sweater and jeans, was fed up with him.

"Just wear this one," the blond sighed, indicating the one closest to the pillows.

"That doesn't scream 'I want to fuck you' as much as I'd like," Genesis admitted, chewing his lip.

Cloud sighed. "Then this one."

"I don't think that's my best color."

"Well the third one, then."

"No…"

He wanted something to show he wasn't totally sedentary, that he didn't just come home and curl up with a book and a glass of wine until it was time for him to pass out for the night. He swam, sometimes, at the pool near his library, but that was it. He wanted to appeal to what these men all had in common - fitness.

Cloud eventually slapped together a piece of clothing from each of his three outfits and demanded Genesis get dressed or he'd leave without him.

The subway was more frustrating than usual, delays and endless stops in the tunnel abound, but Cloud entertained Genesis with some stories about his kids from this week. One of his troublemakers, Denzel, had gotten a really good score on his last test and the pride in Cloud's voice made Genesis smile despite his anxiety.

Zack's stop was one Genesis rarely visited, a good distance out on one of the less-packed lines. As they left the station and turned down the street, Cloud's face glued to the GPS map app on his phone, Genesis took it all in.

The apartments were bigger out here, the streets wider, the air a little cleaner. They passed a bougie little market boasting organic vegetables and hand-cut meats. Expensive apartments sat above new stores with gleaming glass windows.

Gentrification.

Genesis was so deep in his thoughts about the rising cost of living in Midgar and the unfairness of companies kicking the people of color who've always lived in this area out that he missed them turning into the right apartment building. The  _ding_ of an elevator brought him out of it, and he followed Cloud's cute butt down a hall as Cloud double-checked his phone for the right apartment number.

There were only a few apartments on the floor, meaning it was probably pretty large. The carpet beneath Genesis' feet was plush, too. "Let me," Genesis murmured, and Cloud nodded without arguing as Genesis raised his hand and knocked boldly, head held high.

They heard jogging footsteps and Zack called from inside the apartment's depths, "Be right there!"

Cloud flashed Genesis a small, goofy smile. He seemed a little anxious too; Genesis brushed the back of his hand against Cloud's hip, retracting his hand just in time for the door to open.

Zack grinned widely at them, breathing with the good kind of exertion, in a band t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off and form-fitting track pants with stripes up the sides. His socks had cats on them. "Heeey," he said, and immediately handed them both beers (Cloud fumbled his and nearly dropped it, surprised) before pulling them into hugs.

"Someone's excited to see us," Genesis quipped, his voice muffled into Zack's wide, broad, strong, attractive, good-smelling shoulder. ( _Ugh_ , why did the guy have to be engaged?)

"Um, duh," Zack said, finally moving back. "Cloud told me about your love for showtunes, and that's kind of my thing. All afternoon I've been trying to convince Angeal and Seph to let me serenade them later."

"That's what the beers must be for," Cloud noted, stepping out of his shoes just past the doorway.

Zack waited until they were both in their socks and then graciously took their coats. "Yup. The first of many, Spike."

The doorway opened to a hallway, and the first opening on the right went to the kitchen ( _gorgeous_ , Genesis noted with not a small amount of envy) and then, to the left, a living room with two unfairly handsome men relaxing on couches in front of a huge television.

"Sephiroth, Angeal," Zack greeted, "You remember Cloud and Genesis from the library thing?"

Angeal, bless him, smiled warmly at the both of them and said, "Of course. Hey, you two, thanks for joining us. Zack wouldn't shut up about this."

"Hey," Zack protested, and then, because Genesis' feet seemed to have turned to lead, gave the redhead a small push between his shoulder blades. "Go sit, Genesis, I have like, snacks. I'll go get them."

What followed was four seconds of pure panic, of Genesis almost bumping into Cloud in his hurry to take a seat - and then Genesis, in a move that completely stumped him and clearly must be the work of his subconscious mind trying to sabotage him… sat next to Sephiroth.

He caught the weird look Cloud flashed him before joining Angeal on the adjacent couch.

"Good to see you again," Genesis said as smoothly as he could to Sephiroth, because if he didn't say something polite he was going to say, "Oh, what the  _fuck_ " out loud to himself.

Sephiroth drank tea, not a beer like the rest of them, and he removed one hand from a warm mug to shake Genesis' hand again. He said, curiously formal, "It is good to make your acquaintance in a casual setting, Genesis."

"Don't mind his stiffness," Angeal said, and indulgent fondness just  _oozed_ from his voice, "The drunker he gets the more formal he gets. It's cute."

Genesis raised an eyebrow at the mildly guilty look on Sephiroth's face. "I thought that was tea."

Sephiroth really  _must_ be tipsy, because he held out his mug for Genesis, a stranger, to have a sip. "It is," he said, his voice low and rumbly and yes, Cloud definitely had his eye on A Catch. Genesis ducked his head to put his mouth on the rim of the mug and Sephiroth tilted it, his green gaze boring through Genesis' eyes and into his brain.

Genesis sipped, tasted the liquid thoughtfully, straightened up and said, "Yes, I suppose five percent of that might actually be tea. That's revolting."

Angeal laughed loudly behind him, and Sephiroth gave him a small smile.

He could feel the waves of  _you lucky bastard_ floating off of Cloud Strife towards him, but Genesis ignored his roommate for a moment to make himself comfortable, bringing his legs up and crossing them applesauce-style on the cushion. "I assume you're drinking something actually fit for human consumption," he drawled at Angeal, letting a bit of his Banoran country boy twang appear, because he'd heard it was attractive.

Angeal shrugged. "Zack keeps some gluten-free beers on hand for me. I don't ask for any particular brand." He took a sip and shrugged again. "This one is okay."

Zack had given Cloud and Genesis something grapefruity, and the two of them took long sips during the sudden awkward lull in conversation.

Luckily Zack appeared then with a bunch of small plates loaded onto a wide silver tray. "Eat up, dudes," Zack announced, laying it down. "These are just appetizers - I'm gonna order pizza in a bit."

Cloud eyed the spread. "Don't let Genesis have anything with dairy, or he'll shit everywhere."

_Ugh._

"Haha-" Genesis gave a  _very_ unconvincing laugh, feeling his face approach the same shade of red as his hair, "-I know what to avoid, thank you very much, Cloud, dearest."

Genesis really hoped that was enough revenge for Cloud with the whole sharing-the-same-mug-as-Sephiroth thing, and judging by the sweet look Cloud sent him, he was off the hook now.  _Planet_ , that boy.

"Well, let's hope I don't have gluten." Angeal smiled kindly at Genesis. "Otherwise I'll be in the same boat, and Zack only has the one bathroom."

Wait -

\- Was Angeal flirting with him via toilet humor?

\- Was Genesis strangely okay with that?

"Ew, stop talking about shitting," Zack huffed, then plopped down on Cloud's other side, making the blond scooch closer to Angeal. "Gen - is it okay if I call you Gen? - don't touch the eggplant dip, there's some cream or something in it, I think."

Mortification made Genesis mutter quietly, "Noted."

"Anyway," Sephiroth said, clearly done with the subject as well, "Cloud. If I remember correctly - you're a… math teacher?"

Cloud sat up straight at the direct address from Sephiroth. He flicked some blond hair out of his eyes and said, "Ah, yeah. Generally speaking, eleven to fourteen year-olds."

"What school?"

"ShinRa Middle. It's in Sector five."

Angeal and Zack made polite noises of interest, and it looked like Angeal was going to ask Cloud something, but Sephiroth continued on, his gaze lazer-sharp on Cloud. "What do you think about that age group?"

"Um," Cloud said, "It's a good age. Those kids go through a lot - puberty, growing up - it's tough. But they're worth it."

Cloud spoke honestly; Genesis knew how fiercely he adored his students, including (or perhaps especially) the troublesome ones. Beside him, Sephiroth shifted. He seemed to be done his impromptu interrogation, because he nodded his head and fixed his attention back to his mug.

Zack snickered at Sephiroth over something he knew but wasn't sharing. "Seph knows allllll about that. Anyways, what's your craziest story? I know kids get up to all kinds of stuff."

Cloud did not love being the center of attention. Although he stumbled a bit at first, he began to entertain everyone with tales about his kids and occasionally the other teachers (who were a weird bunch). Genesis could top his stories (the public library topped most people's stories) but he contented himself with a simple "someone shat on the floor of a men's restroom stall yesterday and I had to lock the whole thing down" and let Cloud do his thing.

Cloud found an opportunity to get their hosts talking about themselves, though, with, "I bet that's all pretty boring compared to what you guys do, though. What do famous instagrammers do most of the time, anyway? When you're not giving talks at the library, that is."

"Aha!" Zack said with an elaborate shrug, and Angeal rolled his eyes.

"You might think that our social media presence is enough to pay our bills, but that's only true for Zack." Zack didn't even try to look bashful about it - he just grinned that thousand-dollar grin. "Neither Seph or I get enough endorsements or outside projects to be totally sufficient, though we do have a few. I work part-time at a flower shop."

Genesis, a little stunned, blurted, "Oh - that's so lovely."

"You like flowers?"

Genesis nodded. "I went through a phase just after college where I passive-aggressively told Cloud all his faults as a roommate and friend through flowers - all of which he didn't understand, by the way - but afterwards I'd still read the occasional flower book."

"That's…" Angeal blinked, and then smiled slowly. It brought creases to the corners of his eyes - those would deepen further, with age - and his blue eyes sparkled with mirth. "That's so petty. I love it. What did you use?"

Genesis waved a hand, and Cloud scoffed and rolled his eyes. "A lot of yellow carnations.  _You're disappointing me, I hate you_ , the like. Oh man, I covered his bed in petunias." For Zack and Sephiroth, he added, "They mean 'hatred.' It was particularly funny because Cloud thought I was decorating bed in flower petals in a grand romantic -"

"Alright," Cloud growled, "That's enough stories about you being a psychopath, thanks."

Angeal laughed loudly, still looking tickled pink by Genesis. He studied him curiously, his head tilted, dark hair falling across his forehead and into those eyes, and Genesis winked at him before turning away, surprised at his own daring.

Zack had a show on the television, the volume so low they could hardly hear it, probably to help during any times they ran out of things to say. It was a show Cloud loathed, it turned out, and the party debated it in earnest, Cloud and Sephiroth on one side with the rest of them not minding the show, even if it was rather cheesy. After that it hardly seemed necessary, the social crutch; they could all hardly stop talking enough to even eat their pizza, once it came.

It turned out that Angeal also liked to read. His recent reads were a few nature-centric memoirs and one fiction title that was in high demand at his branch, something about everyone being connected through nature. That was Angeal's fatal flaw, it seemed: the man loved the outdoors.

Genesis could learn to really  _like_  nature, he supposed.

Possibly.

It would just take some… time.

Would it be worth it? (Angeal stretched his arms over his head, his biceps making his t-shirt pull delectably tight over the muscles, and Genesis took a big sip of the wine he was working on now to force back the whine working its way out of his throat.  _Yes,_ worth it.)

Perhaps inevitably, because their hosts were all fitness bloggers, conversation turned eventually to exercise.

Genesis then let loose the biggest lie of the evening.

"I've been trying to get in shape," he said, and Cloud's head swiveled on his neck so fast Genesis might be worried if he wasn't trying to play this off right, "But, you know. Gyms and all the equipment are a bit intimidating, aren't they?"

"Oh!" Zack said. His eyes went wide, but then he grinned widely. "Don't even worry about that, Gen. People always feel self-conscious in gyms, but like, and I promise you on this, no one cares! Or at least, ninety-five percent of people are just there to work out and keep to themselves and then leave. Why don't you and I go sometime? I go to a high-end one, but I can bring guests."

\- Oh, damn, that was so  _nice._ Genesis blinked, not having expected that response.

"Um," he said, "That might be nice, yeah."

"What about… Thursday evening? I have a modeling thing during the day, but after?"

"Oh." Genesis was a little disappointed, but mostly relieved - he didn't need to be making an ass of himself in front of Zack Fair on his own turf. "That's one of my late nights at the library, I'm afraid."

"Darn. Well, we'll figure it out, it might be fun."

Someone suggested soon after that they go look at Zack's in-house gym and fuck around on the machines. It hadn't been Angeal, because he then objected at the use of 'fuck around' in reference to possibly dangerous and heavy equipment, but Genesis managed to distract him with a book recommendation and he counted it has quite the victory.

Regardless, they all stood to leave the living room.

"I'm just gonna recycle these first," Cloud murmured, gathering the scattered empty beers and glasses off the table.

It was a few steps down the hallway that Genesis realized Sephiroth wasn't following. He turned just in time to see long silver hair and a stupidly perfect ass disappear into the kitchen behind Cloud.

Five minutes later, as Genesis got acquainted with the layout of Zack's impressive gym, the two men still had not returned.

Five more minutes later, as he lifted up a heavy medicine ball and tried to fathom why anyone would want to throw these dreadful things around, they  _still_ weren't back.

Genesis was going to fucking kill Cloud Strife out of envy.

"Aerith and I are gonna move soon," Zack was saying, "get our new place sorted after the wedding. She wants a space big enough to host yoga classes with her friends, and some more space for my shit wouldn't be a bad idea, either."

Zack's little gym was already pretty huge, in Genesis' opinion. Two whole walls were mirrors (he'd already self-consciously adjusted his clothes twice after catching sight of himself by accident) and there was space around the jungle-gym looking contraptions in the middle for mats, stretching equipment, and a small counter with water and what looked like an unending supply of protein bars.

Zack hopped up slightly to grab an overhead bar, and quick as anything, started doing pull-ups. He hardly even looked  _bothered,_ his face not red with exertion nor scrunched up unattractively with the effort. His exposed arms looked so fucking good.

"Show off," Angeal muttered somewhere back by the water counter. Zack just grinned, continuing to lift himself up and down.

"I like squats best, but arm stuff is fun too," he said, and then lightly landed on his feet. He stretched his arms out. "Your turn, Gen."

"What!"

His outburst coincided with Sephiroth and Cloud's return. He didn't even have time to give Cloud a proud look or the stink eye (he wasn't even sure himself which) because Zack nudged him underneath the bar and said encouragingly, "Jump up and grab it!"

He did.

Genesis hung there, looking around mistrustfully at the small group of men. Zack was all grins, clapping him harshly on the shoulder and saying, "Okay, now lift yourself up, if you can!"

Genesis looked up at the bar. His hands were starting to hurt.

"Here," Zack said, and tugged on his shirt until Genesis dropped back down. "Jump up again, and use the momentum to help yourself get up."

"Oh," Genesis replied, mortified, "Okay."

He bent his knees, readying himself, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He jumped, grabbed on tight and used his arm muscles to lift himself up -

\- and got, like, a third of the way there.

"Woooo!" Zack cheered.

"Oh,  _fucking hell,_ " Genesis growled, making Angeal startle and laugh loudly across the room. His arms trembled violently and he kicked his feet like a child in water, clenching his jaw. His chin was still below the bar by a couple inches but he was  _close_ …

He grit out, " _Ffffffuuuuck,"_ frozen there; he was not getting any higher up.

When he gave up, dropping down, he declared loudly, "I can still carry more books at once than any of my coworkers."

"Yeah, okay, buddy," Zack said, patting his shoulder, and Genesis ducked his head and immediately moved out of the spotlight. He hid in the back next to Angeal, who put water on a paper towel and - in a move that made Genesis' heaving breath hitch further - took his hand and gently pressed it to his palm. They were red and tender, unused to grabbing onto the textured metal bar like that.

"You want a go, Spike?" Zack asked. He seemed unsurprised that they were back - or indeed, that they had ever left. Nor did Angeal, now that Genesis thought about it.

Cloud held up his hands. "Um, I'm good."

He didn't look like he'd been kissing, actually. His hair was its usual mess, but no worse, and his clothes weren't rumpled. His face didn't have the long-lasting stain of a blush he always got.

Hm?

Angeal showed him something a little easier, he said, because you didn't have to lift your own body weight. In fact, it involved lying down on your stomach and hooking your ankles and calves underneath some padded cylinders, then bending your legs up towards the ceiling.

"This is going to be embarrassing," Genesis said, shook from his first disastrous attempt, chuckling nervously, but Zack and Angeal waved him away, nothing but encouraging and  _dammit._ Genesis could feel heat in his stomach and face and it felt like shame, and he had to take a moment to let out a breath and close his eyes, remembering what his therapist said about his inferiority complex and lashing out with anger when he feels judged.

The "fuck you guys" on his tongue faded, and he said instead, with a wobbly smile, "Well, I guess I'll try it."

The first two attempts were pretty bad, indeed. Zack kept ridding him of some of the weight, moving the little pin in a tall stack of metal plates, each one twenty pounds. But eventually he got there, and even though it was a pathetic amount of weight he added a bit of drama to it to save some fucking face and boasted loudly across the room to Cloud, who was watching with a smile, "Beat this, Strife!"

"Uh, no thanks," Cloud said, but then Zack was headed his way.

Which meant: Genesis had Angeal all to himself.

"This must be nothing to you," he said, with a meaningful look at Angeal's strong legs, still stretched out on his tummy. His head was, frankly, dick-height, and it was hard not to stare right at the soft bulge in Angeal's jeans (and what a bulge it  _was_ , holy shit, and the guy was flaccid. Probably.)

There was this constant warmth to Angeal. Genesis found it now in his eyes and his smile. "It wasn't at first. I struggled for a long time before I hit my stride and figured out the safe way to use all this equipment. Come on."

It wasn't an order, but like hell Genesis was about to refuse him; he rose, following Angeal to another station. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cloud humiliating himself on some machine but he couldn't really care because Angeal was  _touching_ him again, encouraging him to sit on a tiny seat on a long, low rectangular piece of metal.

"What is this?" Genesis asked, thrilled.

In front of him was a large circular thing and two handles - foot straps, too.

"A rowing machine. It works a bunch of muscles at once."

Angeal demonstrated, his warm breath puffing on his ear as his fingertips brushed over the fabric of Genesis' shirt. His voice was deep, somewhere between Zack's and Sephiroth's, and it rumbled into him as he said, "Well, the Pectoralis Major." Briefly, he touched Genesis' pecs, a fingertip grazing a nipple in what was probably an accident. "The Erector Spinae," -a swipe of fingers over his lower back had him shivering, "Rectus Abdominus, obviously," - there was even a ticklish touch to the slight softness of his belly.

When Angeal was done showing him exactly which muscles would benefit from this stupid machine Genesis was half-hard in his slacks. Then came the actual demonstration of how to  _use_ it, with Angeal's warm, broad hands cupping his arms and tapping his thighs. He smelled of shower gel and a little bit like beer. Did gluten free beer smell any different? Genesis didn't know, and he couldn't spare it a thought because Angeal's soft hair brushed his cheek as he pulled on the handlebar-looking parts, explaining how it worked the pulleys or whatever the hell inside.

When it was finally his turn to  _use_ the damn thing, Genesis rowed so vigorously, as damned turned-on as he was, that he actually worked up a sweat. When he stopped, Angeal looking impressed and with red hair sticking to his own forehead, his dick was  _still_ interested.

Ugh.

When their hosts were done torturing them, as Genesis described it, making Sephiroth smile at him (he'd been walking the length of the room on his hands, at Zack's request, who loudly hooted that Sephiroth was the only one who could still do this when drunk) they moved back to the main area.

And it was fun - it really was. Whatever Cloud had gotten up to in the kitchen with Sephiroth, he wasn't divulging, but Genesis was able to let it go and just enjoy himself.

This time he made sure to sit beside Angeal on the couch.

At the end of it all Angeal shifted even closer to him, the weight of his body a long, solid brand against his side, and told him that he'd be willing to take him to the gym too, if there was a date that didn't work with Zack.

He had an in. The grin split Genesis' face as he promised to pay him in book recommendations, and then -

\- and  _then_ -

\- Genesis got the man's number. They traded phones, inputting each other's contact info (Genesis putting a book emoji next to 'Genesis,' obviously).

When Genesis swept Cloud away from the apartment, his arm over his best friend's shoulder, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he tried.


End file.
